


The Truth about the Diadem of Ravenclaw

by Elena78



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-20
Updated: 2016-08-20
Packaged: 2018-08-09 22:51:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,803
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7820335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elena78/pseuds/Elena78
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The final battle had taken place, the castle was in ruins. But within the rubble, a truth is revealed about the past.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Truth about the Diadem of Ravenclaw

**Author's Note:**

> **Disclaimer:** The quote from the diadem is from DH, chapter 29: The Lost Diadem

The ruined castle awakened me from a very deep sleep. When I closed my eyes, I thought that my soul had finally been able to rest. However, there I was, standing…or floating, among the rubble of the castle I had helped to build. I didn’t think my ghostly appearance could feel anything from my mortal life, but I was very wrong about that.  

Pain surged through me, stabbing at the core of where my heart should be. I felt tears upon my cheek and wiped them away. I looked at where the wetness should be on my finger, but all I could see where speckles of dust lightly blowing away in the wind.  

I am a smart witch, but there was no logic as to why I was here. My mortal life had ended and all I wanted now was my right to eternal rest. I began moving, more like being pulled, into the castle. I floated by the witches and wizards that had survived this night, but none of them seemed to see me. To say that I was astonished is an understatement.  

Down towards the dungeons I floated and before realising it, I knew where I was going. I had not thought about him in many years, and the stabbing pain returned. It was ridiculous that a ghost, or whatever I am, can feel pain. It made no sense at all.  

Finally, I stopped and I was standing where I did once before, so many years ago…

_He was angry; I had heard his argument with Godric. I followed him with intentions to comfort him, but I couldn’t move beyond the doorway. He was packing his room, magically of course. He sat on his bed; his head lowered as he studied the wand in his hands. Although he remained still, all around him, there was movement. Clothes were flying, folding, and placing themselves into trunks; books were forcefully leaving their shelves and landing in boxes. Glass tinkled and rattled as they levitated from their spots and into cases that closed and locked._

_He had decided what to do before even speaking to me._

_“Rowena, my love,” He said in a low, but calculated tone. “You shouldn’t be here.”_

_I waited for the room to settle before I made my way to him. It felt like I had been waiting hours before I reached him and the stabbing pain I felt nagging in my heart finally broke through. I reached out my once beautiful, fair and well-manicured hand that now shook with fear and looked old. I rested my trembling hand on his shoulder, waiting for him to cover it with his, but it never came._

_“I cannot stay anymore. I do not belong here like I once did.” He placed his wand away and stood, my hand slipping from his shoulder. He faced me, but no hint of emotion rested in his cool, grey eyes._

_“Our dream, our vision has not changed, Salazar. To teach generations of Witches and Wizards is still very much alive. We’re standing right where we should be.” I said with more strength and conviction than what I really felt._

_“Why do you lie to me?”_

_My heart sank, as it always did. It did not matter about logic and what was right. Salazar knew the truth behind my words, and that was something I could never escape from._

_“I’m not lying.” I settled upon the truth. “Our visions have not changed, only yours.”_

_“And only mine is right. Deep down, you know that.” He walked by me, and gathered his boxes and cases._

_Again, he was right. I once believed in his words that he’d only say to me in private. The Pure Blood lines were the most powerful and should be nurtured. However, even I knew this theory was flawed. It did not matter one bit if your blood was pure or not, the most powerful force on earth was given to everyone and every living, breathing creature. The ability to love did not require pure, magical blood. It only required a pure heart._

_“And, what about us?” I asked, still rooted to the spot he left me in. I couldn’t bear facing him because I knew he was going to leave no matter what was said. However, I had to know the truth from him before he left me._

_I did not expect to hear what I did, and no matter what pain I felt, my anger surpassed it. He chuckled. Not in a humorous way, but in a cold, calculated way. The way all women dread hearing coming from a man._

_“Us, indeed.” He didn’t stop moving his boxes. However, with each one he moved and waved away – sending it to the front castle steps, the more my heart cracked. “You were a brilliant distraction, a wonderful dessert to end a good meal, to fulfil my every need without question or hesitation. It was…fun.”_

_I could feel the heat rise to my cheeks, my heart beat wildly in my chest, and I turned to face him. He was smiling, his eyes deceiving. A wave of my hand and a memory played out upon his bed. Two silver, shadowed figures that resembled them both were intertwined. Their bodies writhed and moved together as one, but clearer than anything else, his words echoed in the room. “I love you,”_

_A heavy box full of books landed in the middle of the shadows, sending her illusion shattering and settling like dust. “The words of a man who wanted you to keep returning, nothing more. If you thought I meant anything more than that, you aren’t as smart as I thought you were.”_

_My heart shattered. I stepped closer to him, my arm already bearing back before I could stop it, and I slapped him. It was a good hard, slap that snapped his head to the side. He stayed there for a moment before slowly turned his head back to look at me._

_And for the first time, I saw genuine emotion in his eyes. Their cool grey appearance now looked stormy, like the clouds before it rained._

_“There it is, my love,” I spat his earlier sentiment back at him. “The look that any man, Muggle or Wizard, has in his eyes when he knows he has lied and deceived a woman. You have just proven that you are no better than any Muggle man.” I swept past him, meaning to leave him before he had the chance to leave me, but his cold hand wrapped around my wrist, preventing me from leaving._

_I looked back at him, but in a blur of movement, I felt a sharp, throbbing pain in my hand. He raised my bleeding hand up, and let the blood drip down to the cold, stone floor. He placed a fingertip underneath a drop and caught it, before releasing my hand. He held up that single drop before my eyes and studied me as he spoke._

_“Just one single drop of your blood holds so much power. Our magical powers do not come from any kind of mortal feeling or act. It comes from within, what makes us live. Without it, we are nothing. You and I are pure blooded, the power we have is beyond any Muggle’s grasp, and we should be preserving that before it dies out. No Muggle could ever create what we have done here. This castle and what we teach within it is sacred to our own kind. Not for the halfblooded and Mudblood’s that Godric wants in here. He is letting filth cover my work, my life’s blood, and I’m just supposed to accept that? I don’t think so.”_

_With a whisper of words, he reversed his spell and my blood withdrew and my wound closed. “Godric never asked me to love you or you to love me. That came naturally to both of us, so why are you denying it now?” Again, my voice had more strength than I had inside._

_He did not answer me. He opened up his briefcase and pulled out a velvet box. He opened it and took out the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. A diadem, that sparkled even in the dimly lit room in which we stood. I gasped as he placed it firmly upon my head. I could feel the magical seal bond to me like glue._

_“What is that?” I asked, knowing he would understand._

_“It bestows wisdom upon its wearer.” He looked at me, my loving Salazar had returned, and I smiled. He lightly stroked my face and my eyes closed and leaned into his hand. “Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure.” He whispered before I felt his lips upon mine._

_He swept me away to a place only he could take me. His hand wrapped around me tightly. His mouth invaded mine as he kissed me with a passion and a hunger that left me burning with pure desire and my shattered heart mended as our unspoken love washed over us both._

_He parted from me so quickly and abruptly that I had to steady myself for a moment and catch my breath._

_“I fell in love with your mind, not with you.” And then he was gone._

_He must have taken all the air in the room, because I could not breathe. I fell to the cold floor, the diadem slipping from my head, and I caught it. I was gasping for air, my heart shattering with every breath I managed to draw in. I looked at the sparking jewel in my hand, and etched on its smooth surface was ‘Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure’._

_I clutched the jewel to my chest and cried…_

“I should not have left you like that.”

It took me a moment to realise where I was. The memory was so clear. I felt like I was reliving it again. However, the room was empty, except for his ghostly figure that I hadn’t seen before. I was sitting in the same spot as the memory, unsure of what was going on.

“Your silence is not what I expected.”

“What are we doing here?”

“Why did you not tell me about Helena?”

If I could swallow, I’m sure that’s what I would have done. To gulp on air or swallow saliva from the secret I held from everyone.

 “After all you learned. Why did you want the Baron for our daughter?”

“Because, he was pure. Both in blood and his intentions.” I don’t understand how I can cry, but I was. The tears landed in a cloud of dust.

“You wanted to honour my wishes?” He whispered and I nodded.    

“I knew what you’d want for our daughter, so I arranged it.”

“But she did not love him. Why did you insist?”

“Because I know what it's like to love a man so much and not have him love you back. I know the pain of a broken heart and wanted to spare our daughter of that.”

He sighed. “My love, my sweet Rowena,” he was shaking his head and moved closer to me. Something sparkled and before I realised it, my precious diadem was on my head again. I felt the magical seal embrace me and all the pain I had carried all this time eased.  

“I thought this was lost forever.” I smiled as I began to feel complete once again.

“I don’t understand how you could not remember my words.” His fingers lightly traced the words etched in the diadem. “Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure. Use your head before your heart. By trying to spare Helena of your pain, you caused her to feel her own. Why do you think she fled with the diadem?”

I thought about this for a moment, and then as if some foggy cloud lifted from my mind, it became clear to me. “She knew why I held onto the diadem. She knew it was from you, the man I loved. She knew it was the one thing that would hurt me the most.”

He nodded. However, shame and guilt washed over me, and just like I had done all those years ago, I did again now but for a very different reason. “How could I have been so selfish? I did not mean for him to kill her…” I choked on my words and cried. However, unlike last time, I felt his arms wrap around me.

He sat upon the floor and held me close. His touch was warm and comforting, and I felt real, mortal, and loved once again.

“You wanted the diadem back?” He whispered and I nodded in his arms.

“My selfish need helped kill our daughter.”

Finally, the truth was out. I don’t know how long we sat there, but he stayed with me, just holding me.

“I lied that day, when I left.” He broke the silence, and I lifted my head.  

“What?” My mind was clouded again.

“I lied. I fell in love with you. Your mind included, but I loved you. I still love you.”

His declaration stunned me. “Why now? Why are you telling me this now?”

He helped me to stand, and he looked around the empty room that was still intact. “My heir has finally been defeated. I watched on with such…pride for such a long time, that I didn’t see how twisted he had become. Good did not conquer Evil tonight. Love conquered Hate. That is what brought me back here. I hated Godric for his decision, and you and Helga agreeing that I lost what was right that night. I love you.”

I smiled. I did not need any more words, just him. My arms wrapped around his neck, and our lips met once again. It felt too real for it to not be. My shattered heart began to heal, the burning desire I thought I’d never feel again had returned, and I felt his love wash over me once again.

We parted, in time, out of breath but happy. It was then that the idea came. I wasn’t sure if it would work, and I was surprised that it did.

“What are you doing?” He queried as I settled upon the floor with a piece of parchment and quill.

“I’m writing down our story. Perhaps someday, when the castle is restored, someone will happen across it and reveal a new secret that this castle holds.”

He nodded and sat beside me. He waited patiently as I wrote down all that had been revealed tonight. When I was done, I rolled up the parchment and murmured a few words. The parchment disappeared and Salazar quirked a brow.  

“Where do you suppose it has gone?”

I shrugged. “Who knows? The castle has its own secrets too, you know.”  

Helping me to my feet once again, I smiled at how happy my story was ending. The countless years of heartbreak were finally healing and all was right again, except…

I frowned and Salazar chuckled. “Why do you look so glum?”  

“How _was_ Tom your true heir?”

“Ah,” he stumbled on his words, and I narrowed my eyes. “That is a different story for a different time.” He took my hands in his. “Tonight is the start of our eternal journey. Let’s not ruin it?”

I could not deny him. Not now when I saw happiness dance within his eyes. I nodded in agreement and we both took one last look around the room.

“I still say this could have been completely avoided had you all listened to me.” Salazar said and we both laughed.

I did not have the heart to disagree. I my arms found its place around his neck once again and his lips found mine.

~~*~~

Harry opened the heavy wooden door, surprised to realise that this part of the dungeons had not been destroyed. He entered the room and blinked at what he saw. He wasn’t quite sure what it was, but it was as if the dust in the room was alive and circling and swirling around. He reached out to touch it, but it seemed to explode or shatter, sending a puff of dust over him. He coughed and spluttered, shaking his head.

“Anyone in there?” Hermione called out.

Harry shook his head. “No, there isn’t anyone here.” He called back. “At least, I don’t think there is.” He added under his breath. The room was quiet and still. Harry stood for a moment longer, listening for any kind of disturbance, but he couldn’t hear anything out of the ordinary. Shrugging, he left the room. As the door closed behind him, a single piece of parchment appeared in the room and floated slowly to the ground.


End file.
